Type - Short Fiction, Student Project
Genre - Horror
Director - Shaun James
Country - South Africa
Today we review another student film, one which in my opinion is better than films made by many mainstream production companies here in Kenya - The Wanderer (2013).
I like that this film brings us closer to the reality that is traditional belief systems, systems long dismissed by the contemporary world as ‘witchcraft’ or ‘black magic’ yet the very same cultural pillars are what we Africans knew for centuries long before colonialism replaced it with Christianity and other religions. These systems are what our great grand parents and their ancestors too lived by - practices that would shape who we are as a people today, but sadly eroded by colonial hang-over.
For me, this short film strays along the fringes of cultural nostalgia, questioning what we (contemporary world) know as ‘truth’ or even ‘ethics’. I like the film. I like the story and the quality of production which is way above average, especially for a student project.
I urge more Kenyan filmmakers (including myself), especially the upcoming young ones who are still uncontaminated by the ‘ego of success’, to watch this short and borrow a leaf in telling local stories - well-researched narratives that bring to the fore our long lost customs and practices as an African people, as Kenyans. We should not wait for foreigners to come with large budgets to tell our own stories.
Rating - 4/5 stars
Review by Robert Mũnũku
Instagram - @nairobifilmgeek
Email - nairobifilmgeek@gmail.com
Comments
Post a Comment